DUSHANBE, October 20, 2011, Asia-Plus – A forum on Tajikistan has been held in Washington.
The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) of The School for Advanced and International Studies (SAIS) at John Hopkins University hosted the forum entitled “Tajikistan: Challenges and Opportunities” on October 19.
Mr. Mahmadamin Mahmadaminov, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Tajikistan, and Mr. Grant Smith (moderator), Senior Fellow at CACI and former US Ambassador to Tajikistan, discussed this topic. Tajik Ambassador to the United States Abdujabbor Shirinov also attended the event.
Mahmadaminov reported on successes achieved by Tajikistan over the years of independence, social and economic reforms being carried out in the country and problems the country happened to face.
He gave a detailed account of the concept of social protection of the population and pension reform adopted by the Tajik government in 2006.
Ambassador Shirinov, for his part, reported on priorities of Tajikistan’s foreign policy, approaches to settlement of regional problems and bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the United States.
The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) of The School for Advanced and International Studies (SAIS) at John Hopkins University is a leading research center. The institute conducts fundamental and applied research on Central Asia and the Caucasus region. It was founded in 1996 in response to the increasing need for information about these regions and with the desire to call the attention of US policy makers to this region of the world. By encouraging responsible and well-informed public policy towards the region, the founders hoped the new institute could help a neglected world area to reclaim its legitimate and appropriate place in the world order.
In 2005, the CACI formed a Joint Center with the Silk Road Studies Program (SRSP), an affiliate of the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development policy. The Center is the first of its kind in both Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading focus of research and policy worldwide, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, journalists, and students.
